How to Choose an Outsourced Accounting Firm

by | Oct 18, 2021 | Accounting, eCommerce Accounting

Choosing an outsourced accounting firm can bring your company many advantages. However, once you decide to outsource accounting, you need to ensure the prospective firm can deliver those benefits as promised. 

This blog discusses what you should consider when hiring an outsourced accounting firm. To ensure you take advantage of all the benefits these companies offer, you should first determine what positions or procedures you need to outsource. You should also clearly define your financial goals. Finally, you must establish rapport with your prospective outsourced accounting firm, and you should be confident in their brand reputation and customer service infrastructure. 

At Fully Accountable, you enjoy a full-service accounting firm that examines your financial goals and implements clear, actionable insights to achieve sustainable growth. Whether you need simple solutions such as a financial controller or you need more specific answers, such as a CFO advisory service, our team can deliver. 

What Is an Outsourced Accounting Firm?

Outsourced accounting describes companies that provide full-service accounting departments to small businesses or businesses trying to grow. Using these services, you can avoid the overhead and training from hiring an in-house accounting team. 

These firms handle day-to-day accounting tasks, accounts payable and receivable, payroll, management financial reporting, and financial strategizing to procure capital and maintain positive cash flow.  

Why Choose an Outsourced Accounting Firm?

There are several reasons to choose outsourced accounting solutions. As a 2021 Deloitte study shows, 60% of the participants outsourced financial tasks, and the reason most did so was for the cost benefits it provided.

Outsourced accounting eliminates the time it takes to hire and onboard in-house accountants and gives you access to a scalable team, so you only use the resources you need. When you use outsourced accounting services, you also have access to a fractionalized team that knows your industry needs,  and they implement impactful solutions when you need them most. 

How to Choose an Outsourced Accounting Firm

Decide What Kind of Accounting Help You Need 

You might mistakenly believe that accountants are only one position and that they can handle all your financial needs. However, you would be shocked to learn there are six different accounting positions, including public accountants, financial advisors, tax professionals, auditors, forensic accountants, and consultants. 

Each of these positions has a specified set of responsibilities and they can aid your company in specific ways. One of the first steps to choosing which accounting services to outsource is identifying the positions you need. Outsourcing the wrong duties can adversely affect your company’s financial status, causing more harm than good. 

Find Out The Flexibility of Their Offered Solutions

To save money with outsourced accounting services, your service provider must have flexibility. Financial projections and strategies are not one-size-fits-all. They require frequent re-evaluation and adaptation. The most effective outsourced accounting firms don’t tailor your accounting solution and then leave it alone. They make revisions and changes as your financial circumstances evolve. 

Look for Experienced Accountants 

You outsource your accounting to easily access the most skilled, experienced accountants in your industry. Part of the reason you outsource is that you don’t want to spend valuable time and company resources hiring and training. When you decide to outsource your accounting team, ensure you choose one with a fractionalized team. 

Fractionalized outsourced accounting firms specialize in your industry and have valuable experience that immediately benefits your company. The professionals within these companies understand the trends in your industry and how to respond to them to keep your business running smoothly with positive cash flow. 

Access What Accounting Technology They Use 

You want an outsourced accounting firm that understands the latest, most useful technologies in the cloud technology era. These companies understand how to minimize overhead by reducing hardware and physical storage space. Cloud storage also implements a proven disaster recovery method. For example, if there is a fire at your company building, but you have outsourced accounting services, you won’t lose your financial records because everything is stored in the cloud. 

Additionally, with a cloud-based storage model, you can access your financial records from anywhere in the world, so long as you have internet access. When you outsource your accounting tasks, the outsourced accounting firm handles all of this for you, and you won’t have to pay out of pocket for subscriptions to these software-based technologies. 

Risk Management

The more you use the internet for your accounting solutions, the more imminent cybersecurity threats become. When you outsource your accounting, your outsourced accounting firm handles all of these security risks for you, ensuring your company’s data stays protected from any threats. 

Your prospective outsourced accounting firm should be upfront with you about how they respond to cyberthreats and explain their cybersecurity strategy. When you make the final decision on your outsourced accounting firm, you should feel like you fully grasp their plan of action.  

Exceptional Support 

Your business’s accounting needs evolve and you need an outsourced accounting firm that maintains open, prompt communication. Your outsourced accounting firm should respond to your financial questions and directives with professional, thorough solutions. When you outsource your accounting tasks, you should have access to a full team of accounting experts who value customer service and take your account seriously. 

You can examine whether your prospective outsourced accounting firm values customer service by reviewing their client retention rate or by looking at customer reviews. Doing so will give you valuable insight into how they treat their clients.  

Clearly Define Your Expectations 

As with any other business partnership, your outsourced accounting firm’s roles and responsibilities should be clear prior to establishing a partnership. To be upfront about your collaboration, you need to know the positions you want to outsource. The more precise you can be about your expectations, the more results your outsourced accounting firm can achieve. 

Check-In Often and Make Communication Parameters Clear

Accounting, like financial success, is not static–it’s fluid.  When you decide to outsource your accounting services, don’t leave updates to chance. Part of what determines your successful partnership with an outsourced accounting firm is how often you examine and re-examine your financial milestones. 

Without clear communication, your outsourced accounting firm won’t understand what direction you want to head, and there are bound to be mishaps along the way. 

Perform Background Research

The internet has pros and cons. On the one hand, many smaller vendors have the opportunity to carve out a niche in their industry. On the other hand, it has given rise to imposters and scam artists. 

The outsourced accounting industry isn’t immune to vendors overpromising and under-delivering. That’s why you need to conduct background research. You can look at customer reviews and you might even be able to get some client references from your prospective outsourced accounting firm. When choosing an outsourced accounting firm, the best firms will have a proven track record. They are upfront about their pricing models and their offerings, and you won’t find evidence to the contrary. 

Why Choose Fully Accountable for Your Outsourced Accounting Firm?

Choosing to outsource your accounting positions or procedures shouldn’t strike fear into your heart. It should encourage you to know that your business can achieve sustainable growth with a team of fractionalized specialists handling your financial success. 

Let the full-service team of accountants at Fully Accountable take the financial stress off your shoulders. You won’t have to worry about things such as hiring, training, tax compliance, data backup, and bookkeeping any longer. Additionally, we devise sound financial forecasting and strategies while implementing an effective financial infrastructure in your business. 

Contact us today to learn more about what the fractionalized financial experts at Fully Accountable can do for your growing business. 

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